Delayed-action signal for damper control



May 6, 1952 F. w. HOWLAND DELAYED-ACTION SIGNAL FOR DAMPER CONTROL 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 1, 1949 FIG-l INV EN TOR. FREDERICK W. HOWLAND wh zswwm ATTORNEYS y 1952 F. w. HOWLAND DELAYED-ACTION SIGNAL FOR DAMPER CONTROL 3 SheetsSheet 2 Filed Feb. 1, 1949 INVENTOR. FREDERICK W. HOWLAND m QE BY W W; 4

ATTORNEYS F. W. HOWLAND DELAYED-ACTION SIGNAL FOR DAMPER CONTROL May 6, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Feb, 1, 1949 ATTORNEYS Patented May 6, 1952 DELAYED-ACTION SIGNAL FOR DAMPER CONTROL Frederick W. Howland, Rochester, N. Y., assignor to The American Laundry Machinery Company, Cincinnati, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application February 1, 1949, Serial No. 73,905

6 Claims. 1 This invention relates to drying tumblers, such as are used in laundries and dry cleaning plants for tumbling and drying textile fabrics or articles of wearing apparel which have been washed or dry cleaned. In such drying tumblers the drying effect is produced by passing a stream of heated drying air over the work, while it is under agitation, as the result of which the work and the interior of the drying chamber are quite hot when the drying operation is concluded, too hot, indeed, for the operator to handle the work comfortably. Usually the operator is notified of termination of the drying operation by an automatic signal device.

One object of the present invention is to delay the operation of the signal device, after the drying operation is concluded, for a sufiicient period of time to enable the work and drying chamber to cool down to a comfortable temperature.

Another object is to provide improved signal means associated with the temperature control devices in such manner that when these devices are shifted or adjusted to cold air position, for cooling the load of work, operation of the signal i not produced until after the lapse of a time period sufiicient to insure that the work is cool enough to be handled.

Still another object is to provide improved drying mechanism including a timing device for terminating the drying operation and a delayed action signal device also operated by said timing device for notifying the operator when the work has cooled suificiently to be handled.

Further objects of the invention in part are obvious and in part will appear more in detail hereinafter.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 represents a front elevation, partly broken out and in section, of one form of drying tumbler embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a similar side elevation thereof;

Fig. 3 is a detail sectional elevation, on a larger scale, on the line 33, Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a similar view, showing another position of the parts;

Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view on the line 5-5, Fig. 3; and

Fig. 6 is a detail view, showing another position of the parts.

While the invention may be applied to any desired form or style of drying apparatus, the drawings, for convenience and in no sense of limitation, show it applied toa drying tumbler of the same form illustrated in my prior applica- 5, 1947, for Automatic Temperature Control for Driers, now Patent No. 2,573,571, to which reference may be had if desirable or necessary.

Briefly described, the apparatus shown consists of a suitable casing I I) having a work drying chamber ll, closed by door I2, and through the foraminous drum l3 of which a current of air is caused to flow, as is usual. Air enters by way of either or both of two channels M, E5, the first of which admits cold or unheated air and the second of which is provided with steam heating coils l6. Flow is controlled by rotatable vanes or dampers l7, 18 coupled to work in unison, the several shafts [9 thereof being connected by arms 20 to a long bar 2!. The arrangement is such that when hot air dampers l8 are fully open cold air dampers are fully closed, and vice versa.

One shaft [9 is provided with a pinion 22 operated by a vertically slidable rack 23 actuated in one direction by a lever 24 and in the other direction (toward hot air position) by a biasing spring 25. One arm of lever 24 is pivotally connected to the upper one of two toggle links 26, 21 and also to a tension spring 28.

29 represents the operating shaft of an adjustable clock mechanism having a winding knob 30 by means of which it may be wound up to operate for any desired period of time, say five minutes, at the end of which an arm 3| on said shaft (moving counter clockwise in Fig. 4) engages a trigger 32 on one of the toggle members, breaks or opens the joint thereof, and releases the lever 24 to the effect of spring 28, which thereupon actuates the lever to elevate rack 23 and shift all dampers to cold air position, described more fully in said prior application.

The present invention contemplates a signal device, also actuated by timing shaft 29, for notifying the operator that the drying operation is concluded, and in this case that the Work has also been sufiiciently cooled. The signal device may be of any desired form, appealing to the operators ears or eyes or both. As shown it is a round disc or flag 33 carried by the long arm of a pivoted lever 34 and normally lying out of sight within the casing. The short arm of the lever is connected to a vertical rod 35, biased downwardly in Fig. 3 by compression spring 36, and the lower end of which cooperates with a small side projection or shelf 37 on a triangular plate form lever 38 pivoted on a bracket 39, and the lower inclined edge 40 of which lies in or may be adjusted into the path of travel of arm 3i.

. Before the timing'device has been set, rod. .35 'extends downwardly along. side. shelf Stand beyond the same, in the position shown in Fig. 6, thus holding the triangular plate out of cooperating relation with arm 3 I.

After operator has loaded the machine and has closed its door, he winds the clock mechanism for the desired period and then manually elevates lever 24 from the position shown in Fig. 4 to that shown in Figs. 3 and 5. Lever 24 extends beneath a laterally extending portion 35a of rod 35 and thus lifts said rod. This operation permits the signal disc to move down into unseated position within the casing. As the parts are so set, the rod 35 rises and its lower end moves to a position above the lug or shelf 31, thus releasing triangular lever 38 so that it turns by its gravity bias from the position shown in Fig. 6 to that shown in Fig. 5. In that position shelf 31 lies directly beneath the lower end of rod 35 forming a support therefor, and preventing the signal disc from rising to indicating position.

The blower (not shown) being started, ,hot -air is forced through the work and dries it until the drying period has terminated. 'Thereupon, arm 3| engages trigger 32, breaks the toggle joint and causes the dampers to move to cold air position. This operation includes return of lever '24 to its original position, but rod 35 does not move down and the signal device remains out .of sight within the'casing. The parts are so arranged that arm 3| must travel an additional distance before it engages the lower inclined edge '40 of lever 38. One, two or more minutes may elapse before it does so, but when it does it acts upon lever '38, cams it out of the way and moves shelf 31 out from under rod 35 and the latter drops. This causes the signal device to rise out of the easing to the position shown in Fig. 4, notifying the operator not only that the drying operation is over but also that sufficient time has elapsed for the work to have been cooled to a temperature where it is comfortable to handle.

The duration of this additional cooling period is readily variable or adjustable by appropriate setting of trigger 32 which is adjustable along a slot 4! of its toggle member for the purpose.

The mechanism described is of simple form, is readily embodied in any temperature controlling system and operates satisfactorily over long periods without requiring repair or other attention.

It removes all uncertainty as to the condition of the work, assuring the operator that it is not only dry butcool.

Other advantages will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

What I claim is:

1. Drying apparatus of the character described. comprising a work container provided with adjustable mechanism for selectively causing the flow therethrough of either hot or cold air, means for presetting said mechanism to hot air position, preadjustable time control means operatively engageable with said mechanism at the termination of a predetermined drying period whereby to terminate said drying period and to move said mechanism to cool air position, signal means also engageable with and actuated by said time control means for notifying the operator of the termination of the drying period, and delay means whereby operation of said signal means is delayed, after operation of said mechanism to cool air position, for a period sufiicient to cool the work.

2. Drying apparatus of the .character described comprising a work container provided with adjustable mechanism .for selectively causing the flow of either hot or cold air through said container, means for presetting said mechanism for hot air position, signal means to notify the operator that the working operation is concluded, and time control means operatively engageable with said mechanism and with said signal means after the lapse of a predetermined drying period whereby to terminate said drying period and to notify said operator as aforesaid, said time control means including a movable operating member, said mechanism and said signal means each including a trip device contactable in turn by said movable member during movement thereof, wherein contact between said movable member and the trip device of said signal means occurs subsequent to contact between said movable member and the trigger device of said mechanism so as to provide a time delay sufficient to cool the work.

3. Apparatus as defined in claim 2 wherein means is provided for varying the length of the time delay period in which the work is being cooled.

4. Drying apparatus of the character described comprising a work container, a source of cold air, a source of hot air, a pair of conduits, one such conduit communicating with said source of cold air and said container, the other such conduit communicating with said source of 'hot air and said container, said conduits being provided with respective damper means whereby to respectively permit an air stream through either conduit and past the work in said container, a signal device, means for moving said device to one of two positions, the device when in one said position being visible to the operator, the device when in the other said position being invisible to the operator, the device being invisible when the dampers are 'in hot air flow position, time control means having a movable part operatively engageable with said dampers and with said signal device after the lapse of a predetermined drying :period for moving said dampers to cold air position and for moving said signal device to visible position, said movable part of said time control means operatively engaging said dampers prior to .its operative engagement with said signal device, there being a lapse of a predetermined period between the two such operative engagements to permit cooling of the work before the signal device is moved to visible position.

5. Drying .apparatus as defined in claim 4 wherein means is provided for controlling the length of said lapse.

6. Drying apparatus of the character described comprising a work container, a source of cold air, a source of hot air, a pair of conduits, one such conduit communicating with said source of cold air and said container, another conduit establishing air flow communication between said source of hot air and said container, said conduits being provided with respective damper means whereby to respectively permit an air stream through either conduit and past the work in said container, means for closing either said damper means and simultaneously opening the other said damper means, a signal device, means for moving said device to one of two positions, the device when in one said position being visible to the operator and when in the other said position'being invisible to the operator, the device being invis- -ible when the dampers are moved to hot air fifiow position, time control means including a shaft,"means for rotating said shaft, a trip projection on said shaft, means operatively engageable with said dampers and energizable by engagement with said trip projection for moving said dampers from hot air position to cold air position, means operatively engageable with said signal device and with said trip projection for moving said signal device to visible position, and said trip projection being engageable with the last said means after engagement with the immediately preceding said means whereby to provide a time lapse between movement of said damper means to cold air position and movement of said signal device to visible position.

FREDERICK W. HOWLAND.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,080,198 Cooke Dec. 2, 1913 1,786,191 Carrol Dec. 23, 1930 1,800,228 Pierce Apr. 14, 1931 2,040,729 De Cissey May 12, 1936 2,050,625 Orr Aug. 11, 1936 2,177,778 Martin Oct. 31, 1939 2,217,153 Bowdoin et al Oct. 8, 1940 2,360,915 Vermilya Oct. 24, 1944 

